Frank Masland, Jr.

Frank Masland, Jr. was an American industrialist, conservationist, explorer, and philanthropist from central Pennsylvania. Born on December 8, 1895, he was the grandson of Charles Henry Masland, founder of the Carlisle carpet company, C. H. Masland & Sons. During World War I, Masland attended Dickinson College and graduated in 1918.

In 1951, the carpet company purchased “Kings Gap”, a 32-room stone mansion in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. In 1973, the company transferred ownership of the property to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and it is now known as Kings Gap Environmental Education Center. In 1980, 1,270 acres of secondary old-growth forest in the Tuscarora State Forest in Pennsylvania was named in his honor as the Frank E. Masland Jr. Natural Area.

Frank’s love for the outdoors and support for conservation is long-lasting. He first visited the rim of the Grand Canyon in 1938 and first boated the entire length of the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon in 1948. Masland traveled through the Grand Canyon again in 1949, 1954, and 1956. Masland served on the National Park Service Advisory Board from 1958 to 1979, serving three years straight as its Chair. He also worked closely with Secretary of Interior Stewart Udall and Lady Bird Johnson to create Canyonlands National Park. In a 1965 letter, Udall wrote “Whether it’s hiking with me on the Serengeti Plains on Tanganyika, running the Allagash River of Maine or scrambling on the high country of Utah, Frank Masland has demonstrated his devotion to the out-of-doors and preserving a conservation heritage for future generations of Americans. Thank heavens for people like Frank!”